1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to surgery and, more particularly, to a wrist attachable holder for releasably engaging a surgeon's needle so as to aid in reducing the risk of accidental needle strikes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Doctors and surgeons have become increasingly susceptible to the hazards associated with accidental needle strikes occurring when closing a wound of a patient. It has been found that infectious deceases can be transmitted through the handling of needles in the course of stitching a wound closed. Accidents caused by inadvertent needle pricks may require blood tests for diseases, such as AIDS and hepatitis. The corresponding cost and inefficiencies associated with these tests could result in considerable waste, which may be particularly damaging to a health care facility which is striving to cut costs.
There is a need to protect healthcare professionals from inadvertently sticking themselves with a contaminated needle. The present invention reduces the risk of such occurrences. The present invention is a wrist attachable holder for releasably engaging a surgeon's needle. The holder may be in the form of a magnet for magnetically engaging the needle or may be in the form of a set of spaced apart prongs for tightly receiving the needle therebetween. In either embodiment, the holder may be retractable so as to be assume a low-profile when not in use. The retraction may be accomplished through the employment of a pivotal arrangement.
Magnetic holders have been the subject of earlier patents, such as U.S. Pat. No. 2,164,623, issued Jul. 4, 1939 to Alfred E. Posner, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,755,857, issued Sep. 4, 1973 to Curtis J. Simoneaux. Both Posner and Simoneaux disclose a wrist encircling bracelet having a magnetic plate secured thereto. Posner teaches of the plate being secured by a screw and Simoneaux describes the plate being secured by adhesive. Another magnetic holder for holding articles is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,907,085, issued Oct. 6, 1959 to James M. Bosland. Unlike Posner and Simoneaux, Bosland shows a pivotally mounted magnetic holder. Yet another magnetic holder in disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,178,784, issued Apr. 20, 1965 to Charles Krauthamer who shows a magnet having a pressure sensitive adhesive surface.
A wrist attachable medical holder is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,449,882, issued Sep. 21, 1948 to Amy J. Daniels. Although not shown to be attachable to the wrist, U.S. Pat. No. 2,605,032, issued Jul. 29, 1952 to David L. Hunt et al., shows a pin holder which is removably mountable.
An article holder having a pivotal arrangement is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,713,609, issued Jul. 19, 1955 to Don D. Niklason. Niklason shows a ball and socket pivotal connection fixed in place by a threaded set screw.
Other patents which may be deemed of interest include U.S. Pat. No. 3,104,435, issued Sep. 24, 1963 to Coin J. Beuck, showing an article holder, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,514,882, issued May 7, 1985 to Christian Lavielle, showing a plastic clasp having flexible hinges which are severable.
None of the above patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.